The unemployment rate declined by 0.3 percentage point to
4.7 percent in May, and nonfarm payroll employment changed little (+38,000),
the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment increased in
health care. Mining continued to lose jobs, and employment in information
decreased due to a strike.
Household Survey
Data
In May, the unemployment rate declined by 0.3 percentage
point to 4.7 percent, and the number of unemployed persons declined by 484,000
to 7.4 million. Both measures had shown little movement from August to April.
(See table A-1.)
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for
adult men (4.3 percent), adult women (4.2 percent), Whites (4.1 percent), and
Hispanics (5.6 percent) declined in May. The rates for teenagers (16.0
percent), Blacks (8.2 percent), and Asians (4.1 percent) showed little or no
change. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27
weeks or more) declined by 178,000 to 1.9 million in May. These individuals
accounted for 25.1 percent of the unemployed. The number of persons unemployed
less than 5 weeks decreased by 338,000 to 2.2 million. (See table A-12.)
The number of job losers and persons who completed
temporary jobs declined by 282,000 over the month to 3.6 million. (See table
A-11.)
In May, the civilian labor force participation rate
decreased by 0.2 percentage point to 62.6 percent. The rate has declined by 0.4 percentage point
over the past 2 months, offsetting gains in the first quarter. The
employment-population ratio, at 59.7 percent, was unchanged in May. (See table
A-1.)
The number of persons employed part time for economic
reasons (also referred to as involuntary part-time workers) increased by
468,000 to 6.4 million in May, after showing little movement since November.
These individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment, were working
part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to
find a full-time job. (See table A-8.)
In May, 1.7 million persons were marginally attached to
the labor force, little changed from a year earlier. (The data are not
seasonally adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and
were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12
months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for
work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. (See table A-16.)
Among the marginally attached, there were 538,000
discouraged workers in May, essentially unchanged from a year earlier. (The
data are not seasonally adjusted.) Discouraged
workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs
are available for them. The remaining 1.2 million persons marginally attached
to the labor force in May had not searched for work for reasons such as school
attendance or family responsibilities. (See table A-16.)
Establishment
Survey Data
Total nonfarm payroll employment changed little in May
(+38,000). Job growth occurred in health care. Mining continued to lose jobs,
and a strike resulted in job losses in information. (See table B-1.)
Health care added 46,000 jobs in May, with increases
occurring in ambulatory health care services (+24,000), hospitals (+17,000),
and nursing care facilities (+5,000). Over the year, health care employment has
increased by 487,000.
In May, mining employment continued to decline (-10,000).
Since reaching a peak in September 2014, mining has lost 207,000 jobs. Support
activities for mining accounted for three-fourths of the jobs lost during this
period, including 6,000 in May.
Employment in information declined by 34,000 in May.
About 35,000 workers in the telecommunications industry were on strike and not
on company payrolls during the survey reference period.
Within manufacturing, employment in durable goods
declined by 18,000 in May, with job losses of 7,000 in machinery and 3,000 in
furniture and related products.
Employment in professional and business services changed
little in May (+10,000), after increasing by 55,000 in April. Within the
industry, professional and technical services added 26,000 jobs in May, in line
with average monthly gains over the prior 12 months. Employment in temporary
help services was little changed over the month (-21,000) but is down by 64,000
thus far this year.
Employment in other major industries, including
construction, wholesale trade, retail trade, transportation and warehousing,
financial activities, leisure and hospitality, and government, changed little
over the month.
The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm
payrolls was unchanged at 34.4 hours in May. The manufacturing workweek
increased by 0.1 hour to 40.8 hours, and manufacturing overtime was unchanged
at 3.2 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees
on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 33.6 hours. (See tables B-2 and
B-7.)
In May, average hourly earnings for all employees on
private nonfarm payrolls increased by 5 cents to $25.59, following an increase
of 9 cents in April. Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 2.5
percent. Average hourly earnings of private-sector production and
nonsupervisory employees increased by 3 cents to $21.49 in May. (See tables B-3
and B-8.)
The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for March
was revised from +208,000 to +186,000, and the change for April was revised
from +160,000 to +123,000. With these revisions, employment gains in March and
April combined were 59,000 less than previously reported. Over the past 3
months, job gains have averaged 116,000 per month.
Table
A-7. Employment status of the civilian population by nativity and sex, not
seasonally adjusted
Source: BLS
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